Jhpiego, a non-profit global health affiliate of Johns Hopkins University dedicated to preventing the needless deaths of women and their families in the developing world, hosts a Laughter is the Best Medicine fundraiser gala each year to raise money in support of their lifesaving work. The goal of the nominated video is to use humor to raise awareness of the health challenges women face in these regions and the importance of organization, like Jhpiego, who are part of the solution.
Jhpiego's name is hard to pronounce, no question about it. Instead of avoiding the topic, the team who produced the video decided to use it to our advantage by bringing on board high-profile comedians to spread the word about this issue, just as soon as they can figure out how to pronounce the name of the organization behind it. The video was rolled out before the gala and featured exclusively by People.com and Funny or Die. In addition, Jhpiego shared the video via their networks around the world.
The video has been viewed close to 800,000 times, liked 2,000 times, helped Jhpiego raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Laughter is the Best Medicine Gala and importantly, raised awareness about the health needs of women and their families in vulnerable regions around the world.